LarsTveito published a new build:

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The table was done today. Used 15 mm plywood instead of 22, due to incredible price of the thicker one. I think 15 mm will do. Also made a shelf underneath, as I have limited space in my workshop. A little doubtful about this, as it tends to fill up with crap. I also mountet two electrical tubes under the table, just to be able to run hidden wiring for power in case I should need it sometime.



I also got to start with the assembly. I need to assemble the frame and gantry in order to figure out the mounting spots for the ballscrews, so I can order them to exact length.

 

Got a little done today, tapped the ends of the main rails and mounted the subframe. Had to take i apart after first assembly due to fixing the end beam in the flat position instead of vertical. A lot of screws to reposition. Next is to finish the gantry in order to figure out the lengths and mounting points for the ballscrew, so I can order these.

 

Thay are made of 3 mm stainless.

 

Got a cabinet for the electronics sourced, an old enclosure for some ventilation systems that was obsolete. Right size and sturdy cabinet. Startet with the wiring to the drivers and controller card.

 

Wiring of the drivers ready. Now it is just sensors and power supply in to the box remaining, then the control cabinet is done.

 

Yeah, it's a well enclosed box, so I have to have some sort of ventilation. I'm going to mount it on the side of the table, so I figure a fan on one of the sides and intake holes under each drive should do it. I just have to finish mounting all of the power supplies, so I can see where the best location for that fan will be.

 

Holder til i Lier utenfor Drammen.

 

Got some ballscrews in the mail today, so now I can start to make brackets for attaching them. Started with the spindle mounting plate. Had to extend the wheel holders, so I can fit the ballnut mounting housing behind the v-slot-plate. Added some ekstra holes on top so I can add an extra set of wheels if necessary later. Still a little bit nervous about the weight of the 2.2 kw spindle, it seems heavy compared to the extrusions that are going to hold it.

 

Starting to testfit the ballscrews, need to make brackets for the ends, and spacers and mounting bracket for the gantry nut.

 

Made spacers for the ball-screw mount to gantry. 47.5 mm long, 18 mm diameter. Next is a mounting plate. Made them quite big since they are going to transfer loads sideways. This is for one side, then I need four more for the other side. I'll try to make a short video of how I made them later.

 

Here are the attachment finished, just need some other bolts, the short ones are too long, and the long ones are too short, so this is just to see how it turned out. I plan to center it on the gantry plate, and drill and tap directly in the plate. As it is stainless steel, I think M6 with 3 mm deep threads should hold up fine.


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Here is a short video of the turning of the spacers.

 

Slow progress on this one, been a while since last update. Started mounting ballscrews now, gantry is almost finished.

 

Some more progress, mounted the spindle mount today. Had to make my own version of t-nuts, took some 10x2 mm brass flat bar, cut to length, drilled and tapped for M5. Then aluminum t-profile to bolt into the mount and to the t-nuts. The t-nut goes all behind the mount in one piece, so both top and bottom nut is connected to the same flat bar. Drilled the holes in the t-profile oversize by one mm, so I can adjust the spindle clocking.

You can also see one of my limit-switches there.

 

Now I am actually almost done. Mounted the spindle, mounted the motors, and mounted the limit switches. All is connected and up and running.

I have a few small tasks left. Need to attach the VFD to the table, attach the frame to the table top, and mount home switches. Also some strapping of wires to get the build a little more tidy.

 

Short video of first run. Now I have to explore feeds and speeds.

 

Mounted and wired the home switches, so now the build is complete for now. Surprisingly easy to connect them in Linuxcnc, or have I just gotten more familiar with it? Worked on first try. Now I can start making parts, and ponder about improvements...

 

First project made. A collett holder for my ER20 colletts. It cuts good when I got the feed and cutting dept right. It did not like heavy cuts, and not alternating between climb and conventional milling. Not stiff enough for that. You can see the difference in surface finish. The big pocket was cut at full depth at 20 mm, but on the second try I only took 2 mm width of cut, and only climbmilled.

It is made of pine wood, so not the best to get good surface finishes, but ok for this use.